Big banks still threaten economy

7:51 PM,
Oct. 23, 2013

JPMorgan Chase headquarters in New York.

Written by

USA Today
Guest editorial

At $13 billion, JPMorgan Chase's tentative settlement with the government certainly is big. And it certainly has sparked a debate about whether it is too severe, given that the bad behavior took place at Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual before they were acquired by JPMorgan with the encouragement of federal bank regulators.

As big as the settlement is, in many respects it is old news and not nearly as consequential as it might seem. The activity in question - misrepresenting bundles of toxic mortgages - occurred before the 2008 financial crisis. And the amount of the settlement, while ...